Autumn Lasagna

Autumn Lasagna via the cozy apron
Olive oil for drizzling
1 ¼ lb. ground turkey
½ t Italian seasoning
½ t salt
¼ t black pepper
1 clove garlic, finely minced
2 t chopped, fresh sage leaves
12 lasagna noodles, cooked
Creamy Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic Sauce (recipe below)
4 c fresh, baby spinach leaves
4 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 350, and have a 12”x10”x2” (roughly) baking dish on hand. (I only had 9x13 so I just filled up the dish and froze the rest of the sauce.)

Place a large, pan over med-high heat, cook gr turkey. add Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and garlic,  remove from heat and stir in fresh sage; set aside to slightly cool.

To assemble  lasagna:  1 c Butternut Squash Sauce to bottom  dish;  4 uncooked lasagna noodles over the sauce, and then add another 2 c sauce over top of noodles; next, add half cooked, ground turkey, followed by 2 c  baby spinach , and drizzle lightly w olive oil; next, sprinkle over 1 c mozzarella ; repeat layering process. 4 noodles, 2 c sauce, remainder of gr turkey and remaining 2 c spinach leaves, and 1 c  cheese; finish lasagna by adding remaining 4 lasagna noodles, and remaining sauce and  2 c mozzarella over top; add remaining ½ t Italian seasoning over cheese, and bake 350F 30-35 min, tilcheese melted and lightly golden; serve while hot.

Creamy, Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic Sauce
3 heads garlic, tops cut off
Olive oil for drizzling
3 tsalt, plus a pinch, divided use
4 lbs. butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup chicken stock, warm
2 cups half and half, warm
4 ounces mascarpone cheese
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

(*This sauce can be made ahead if desired, and kept refrigerated.)

Preheat oven 400F, and line sheet w foil. Drizzle  olive oil over 3 heads of garlic, and sprinkle a couple of pinches of salt over top, as well; wrap each head of garlic tightly in foil, and place the heads directly onto the rack of the oven (on the side) to roast; once garlic heads have roasted for about 10 min, toss together cubed butternut squash w 3 T olive oil, 1 t salt,  pepper and Italian seasoning; turn squash out onto lined sheet, bake along side garlic 30-35 min or til squash vy tender (total roasting time for garlic 40-45 min); once  squash istender, remove from theoven, along w garlic.  allow squash and garlic to cool slightly, ssqueeze  garlic from heads, and mash lightly. set aside; next, add about 1/3  squash into  bowl of food processor (will take about 3 batches), and process w about 1/3  garlic, til smooth and pureed; turn processed squash/garlic into a large pot, and repeat pureeing process w remaining squash/garlic and turn that out into pot once pureed.

Place pot w squash/garlic on low heat, and add in warm stock and warm half and half, carefully stir to incorporate; next, add  mascarpone, Parm and  remaining 3 t salt, combine, til mascarpone and Parm blended completely; remove sauce from heat and set aside until ready to use for lasagna. (If making ahead, cool the sauce completely, and refrigerate until ready to assemble lasagna, at which time you can gently re-heat it stove-top.)